Dynamic Content Scheduling via Preliminary Action
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often forget content items they want to watch and struggle to find them later, as content recommendations can be outdated or repetitive, leading to inefficiencies in content consumption.
Innovation Solution
A media guidance application dynamically schedules content by identifying optimal viewing times based on user calendars and preferences, generating scheduling options, and managing content recommendations to ensure timely consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If content recommendations are updated frequently, then users see fresh content suggestions, but users may forget previously recommended content items and spend time searching for them
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary scheduling of content items at the time of recommendation, creating a future consumption plan before the user actually views the content. This preliminary action captures the user's intent to watch content at a specific future time, preventing the need to search for it later.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary scheduling mechanism that acts as a bridge between content recommendations and actual consumption. This intermediary system manages the transition from recommendation to viewing by tracking scheduled content and preventing duplicates, solving the problem of forgotten content.
2Loss of time
If content recommendations are not updated frequently, then users can find previously recommended content easily, but users see the same recommendations repeatedly until they watch or remove the item
Solution Approach 1:
The system schedules content for future consumption at the time of recommendation, creating a commitment that prevents the content from being repeatedly shown. This preliminary scheduling action resolves the contradiction by ensuring content is both easy to find (through scheduling) and not repetitively displayed (through consumption tracking).
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms that track whether scheduled content has been consumed, using this information to adjust future recommendations. This feedback loop prevents showing already-scheduled or consumed content again, eliminating repetitive recommendations while maintaining recommendation quality.
3Reliability
If the system tracks and manages scheduled content consumption, then users are reminded of intended content at the right time, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the content recommendation system multi-functional by combining recommendation, scheduling, tracking, and reminder capabilities into a single unified system. This universal approach increases reliability without proportionally increasing complexity, as the same system components serve multiple purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges previously separate functions (recommendation engine, schedule manager, consumption tracker, and reminder system) into an integrated content management system. This consolidation achieves reliable content reminders while managing complexity through unified architecture rather than separate independent systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for recommending and dynamically scheduling content. A time when a request to consume a content item is likely to be received is identified and an identifier of the content item is displayed on a device. Prior to the identified time, an option to consume, at the identified time, the content item is also displayed on the device. In response to the option being selected, the device stops displaying the identifier of the content item until the identified time.